Radio wave receiving apparatus for receiving two different radio wave intensities

ABSTRACT

A radio wave receiver that receives two different sets of radio waves and displays intensity of the received radio waves. First and second radio wave processing portions receive respective radio waves and output various kinds of information, such as video information and audio information. A switching portion receives output signals from the first and second radio wave processing portions, and switches the output signals according to a switching instruction of a controller to supply the output signals to a display portion and a speaker. The controller causes the intensities of the received radio waves in respective tuners of the first and second radio wave processing portions to be displayed simultaneously or in a switching manner based on a user&#39;s operation irrespective of which tuner&#39;s received radio waves are being processed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/939,979, filed on Nov. 4, 2010, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/558,019 which adopts the InternationalFiling Date of May 19, 2004, which is a U.S. National Phase ofPCT/JP2004/006728 filed May 19, 2004 which claims priority to JapanesePatent Application No. 2003-148842 filed May 27, 2003. The disclosuresof these applications are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a radio wave receiving apparatus forreceiving two different radio waves.

BACKGROUND ART

From the past, intensity of a received radio wave (also referred to as areception level, an antenna level, etc.) is displayed on a liquidcrystal display portion, etc., in an electronics apparatus such as aportable telephone, etc. (see Japanese Patent Laying-open H11-150765).Furthermore, due to a reason that a reception processing circuit isdownsized and performs very highly in recent years, it becomes possibleto provide an apparatus capable of receiving two different kinds ofradio waves. In such the apparatus, too, it is possible to display theintensity of the received radio wave on the liquid crystal displayportion, etc.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a radio wavereceiving apparatus of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an outline of the radio wave receivingapparatus of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 3( a), (b), and (c) are descriptive diagrams each of which shows adisplay state in each antenna level display mode;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process content of a control portion;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a process content of the control portion;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process content of the control portion;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a process content of the control portion;and

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a process content of the control portion.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION ProblemsTo Be Solved By The Invention

However, in the conventional apparatus, the intensity of the receivedradio wave, which is a subject to be processed (a received radio wave ina first operation mode, for example), in use for outputting audio, forexample, is displayed on the liquid crystal display portion, etc., outof the two different kinds of the radio waves. Therefore, it is neededto switch the operation mode in order to know the intensity of the otherreceived radio wave (a received radio wave in a second operation mode),and thus, the conventional apparatus lacks user-friendliness.

In view of the above circumstance, an object of the present invention isto provide a radio wave receiving apparatus configured to be capable ofutilizing two different kinds of radio waves and capable of enhancinguser-friendliness regarding a display of intensity of the received radiowaves.

Means For Solving The Problems

In order to solve the above-described problem, a radio wave receivingapparatus of the present invention is a radio wave receiving apparatusprovided with a first radio wave receiving portion and a second radiowave receiving portion, and receiving two different radio waves, andcomprises a means for obtaining information indicating intensity ofreceived radio waves from each radio wave receiving portion, a displayfor displaying the intensity of the received radio waves, a means forgenerating display information applied to the display based on theinformation indicating the intensity, and a controller for switching,based on an user operation, between a display of the intensity of thereceived radio wave of the radio wave receiving portions receiving aradio wave, which is a subject to be processed, and a display of theintensity of the received radio wave of the radio wave receiving portionreceiving a radio wave, which is a subject not to be processed.

According to the above configuration, it is possible for a user to knowthe intensity of the preferred received radio wave, whether the receivedradio wave is a subject to be processed or a subject not to beprocessed.

A radio wave receiving apparatus is a radio wave receiving apparatusprovided with a first radio wave receiving portion and a second radiowave receiving portion, and receiving two different radio waves, andcomprises a means for obtaining information indicating intensity ofreceived radio waves from each radio wave receiving portion, a displayfor display intensity of the two received radio waves at the same time,and a means for generating two pieces of display information applied tothe display based on information indicating intensity of the bothreceived radio waves of the radio wave receiving portion receiving aradio wave, which is a subject to be processed, and the radio wavereceiving portion receiving a radio wave, which is a subject not to beprocessed.

According to the above-described configuration, it is possible for auser to know the intensity of the both received radio waves, whether thereceived radio wave is a subject to be processed or a subject not to beprocessed.

Furthermore, a radio wave receiving apparatus of the present inventionis a radio wave receiving apparatus provided with a first radio wavereceiving portion and a second radio wave receiving portion, andreceiving two different radio waves, and comprises a means for obtaininginformation indicating intensity of received radio waves from each radiowave receiving portion, a display capable of forming a display stateshowing the intensity of two received radio waves at the same time, anda display state showing the intensity of one received radio wave, ameans for generating display information applied to the display based onthe information indicating the intensity, and a controller forswitching, based on a user operation, among a first display modeindicating intensity of the received radio wave of the radio wavereceiving portion receiving a radio wave, which is a subject to beprocessed, a second display mode indicating intensity of the receivedradio wave of the radio wave receiving portion receiving a radio wave,which is a subject not to be processed, and a third display modeindicating intensity of the both received radio waves.

According to the above-described configuration, it is possible for auser to know the intensity of the preferred received radio wave, whetherthe received radio wave is a subject to be processed or a subject not tobe processed, and in addition, it is also possible for the user to knowintensity of the both received radio waves at the same time.

The display indicating the intensity of the received radio waves may beperformed by using pictographic characters. Furthermore, there may be adifference in color between the pictographic characters indicating theintensity of the radio wave of the radio wave receiving portionreceiving the radio wave, which is a subject to be processed, and thepictographic characters indicating the intensity of the radio wave ofthe radio wave receiving portion receiving the radio wave, which is asubject not to be processed. In addition, there may be a difference inshape between the pictographic characters indicating the intensity ofthe radio wave of the radio wave receiving portion receiving the radiowave, which is a subject to be processed, and the pictographiccharacters indicating the intensity of the radio wave of the radio wavereceiving portion receiving the radio wave, which is a subject not to beprocessed.

Effect Of The Invention

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possibleto enhance user-friendliness regarding a display of the intensity of thereceived radio waves in a configuration capable of utilizing twodifferent radio waves.

BEST MODE FOR PRACTICING THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be describedbased on FIG. 1 to FIG. 8.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a radio wavereceiving apparatus 1 of this embodiment. Although FIG. 1 shows aconfiguration in which a first antenna 1A and a second antenna 2A areprovided, it may be configured such that one antenna commonly used fortwo radio waves is provided. A first radio wave processing portion 1 isformed of a first tuner 11 and a first signal processing portion 12. Inaddition, a second radio wave processing portion 2 is formed of a secondtuner 21 and a second signal processing portion 22. Each radio waveprocessing portion 1, 2 receives a radio wave, and outputs various kindsof information such as video information (video signal, video data),audio information (audio signal, audio data), and another information(location information, etc). In this embodiment, the radio wave may meana portable telephone-use radio wave, a PHS-use radio wave, atransceiver-use radio wave, an analog radio broadcasting radio wave, adigital radio broadcasting radio wave, an analog TV broadcasting radiowave, a digital TV broadcasting (e.g., CS broadcasting, BS broadcasting,a terrestrial digital broadcasting) radio wave, a GPS (globalpositioning system)-use radio wave, a wireless LAN-use radio wave, etc.

A switching portion 4 inputs output signals of the first and secondradio wave processing portions 1, 2, selects the output signalsaccording to a switching instruction from a controller 3, and applies aselected signal to a display portion (a liquid crystal panel, etc., forexample) 6 or a speaker 7. Hereinafter, an operation state in which thesignal output from the first radio wave processing portion 1 is asubject to be processed is referred to as a first operation mode, and anoperation state in which the signal output from the second radio waveprocessing portion 2 is a subject to be processed is referred to as asecond operation mode.

As shown in FIG. 2, an operating portion 5 is provided with variouskinds of keys. In this embodiment, an “operation mode switching” key andan “antenna display mode switching” key are provided. The operation modeswitching is to switch between the above-described first operation modeand the second operation mode, and the controller 3 executes a modeswitching process (controlling of the switching portion 4, and so forth)as a result of detecting that the keys are operated. The antenna displaymode switching will be described later.

In addition to an entire control in the radio wave receiving apparatus,the controller 3 executes a process for visibly displaying intensity ofa received radio wave as described below as the control described in thepresent invention. The controller 3 obtains from each tuner 11, 21 avoltage value indicating the intensity of the received radio waves(electric fields intensity of received radio) so as to carry out acomparing process among a first threshold value, a second thresholdvalue, and a third threshold value, for example. When the power voltagevalue is larger than the first threshold value, the controller 3determines that the received radio wave is “strong”, when the powervoltage value is larger than the second threshold value and smaller thanthe first threshold value, the controller 3 determines that the receivedradio wave is “middle”, when the power voltage value is larger than thethird threshold value and smaller than the second threshold value, thecontroller 3 determines that the received radio wave is “weak”, and whenthe power voltage value is smaller than the third threshold value, thecontroller 3 determines that the radio wave travels “out of range”. Thisdetermination process is executed at certain intervals. In addition,based on a result of the above-described determination process, thecontroller 3 generates a segment ON signal. In the display portion 6, asshown in FIG. 2, a received radio wave intensity display portion 6 aformed of liquid crystal is provided. The received radio wave intensitydisplay portion 6 a is formed of an inverted triangle segmentrepresenting an antenna, and three bar-shaped segments each of whichdiffers in height. When it is determined that the received radio wave is“strong”, the controller 3 applies to the received radio wave intensitydisplay portion 6 a a signal for turning on the three bar-shapedsegments. Similarly, when it is determined that the received radio waveis “middle”, the controller 3 applies to the received radio waveintensity display portion 6 a a signal for turning on the two bar-shapedsegments, and when it is determined that the received radio wave is“weak”, the controller 3 applies to the received radio wave intensitydisplay portion 6 a a signal for turning on the one bar-shaped segment.

In FIG. 3, display manners in each display mode in the received radiowave intensity display portion 6 a are shown. A first display mode shownin a portion (a) in FIG. 3 is a mode for showing in a first displaylocation the intensity of the received radio wave of the tuner in use (,which refers to the first tuner 11 in the first operation mode, and tothe second tuner 21 in the second operation mode), a second display modeshown in a portion (b) in FIG. 3 is a mode for showing in the firstdisplay location the intensity of the received radio wave of the tunernot in use (, which refers to the second tuner 21 in the first operationmode, and to the first tuner 11 in the second operation mode), and athird display mode shown in a portion (c) in FIG. 3 is a mode forshowing in the first display location the intensity of the receivedradio wave of the tuner in use and in a second display location theintensity of the received radio wave of the tuner not in use. Thecontroller 3 detects an operation of the “antenna display modeswitching” key, and switches the display modes one after the other. Itis noted that in the above example, it is attempted to distinguishbetween the first display mode and the second display mode by changingcolors (by turning on/off the liquid crystal display) of the invertedtriangle-shaped segment in the first display location. However, inaddition thereto, it is also possible to attempt to distinguish the twodisplay modes according to a difference in shape of the segment, thatis, a triangle-shaped segment that is turned on and off is provided, andthe two display modes are distinguished as a result of the shape of thesegment being rendered different.

Next, a process for displaying the intensity of the received radio wavesin the tuners 11, 21 will be described based on flowcharts from FIG. 4to FIG. 8.

When a power supply is turned on, the controller 3 carries outinitializing processes such as clearing a memory (not shown),initializing the first and second radio wave processing portions 1, 2,and the display portion 6 (step S1). Then, the controller 3 causes eachtuner 11, 21 to execute radio wave receiving processes (step S2), and inaddition, causes each signal processing portion 12, 22 to execute signalprocesses (step S3). As a result of such the processes, a radio wave ofa certain frequency is received, and a demodulating process (regarding adigitally modulated signal, a further decoding process, etc., arecarried out), etc., are executed. As a consequence, a contenttransmitted by the radio wave is retrieved, and as a result, a videodisplay and an audio output are carried out.

The controller 3 sets an operation mode to the first operation mode(step S4), and sets an antenna display mode to the first antenna displaymode (step S5). Then, the controller 3 applies a switch instruction tothe switching portion 4 so as to allow the switching portion 4 to form asignal outputting state corresponding to the operation mode (step S6).It is noted that in the first operation mode, an output of the firstradio wave processing portion 1 is to be selected in the switchingportion 4, and in the second operation mode, an output of the secondradio wave processing portion 2 is to be selected in the switchingportion 4. Furthermore, the controller 3 carries out according to theantenna display mode a determination process of the intensity of thereceived radio waves in the first or second tuner, or in the bothtuners, and outputs the segment ON signal to the received radio waveintensity display portion 6 a based on the determination result (stepS7).

In addition, the controller 3 observes a signal from a key inputtingportion 5 (step S8), and in a case that there is no key input (NO in astep S9), the controller 3 determines whether or not a previously setdetermination time-period interval of the intensity of the receivedradio wave (antenna level) elapses (step S10). When it is determinedthat the determination time-period interval elapses, the controller 3returns to the step S7 so as to display the antenna level once again.When it is determined that the determination time-period interval of theantenna level has not elapsed, the controller 3 returns to the step S8so as to observe whether or not there is a new key input.

On the other hand, in a case that there is the key input (YES in thestep S9), the controller 3 carries out a determination for understandingwhat kinds of the keys are input (step S12). In a case that the inputkey is the antenna display mode switching key, the controller 3 carriesout a process for adding one to a state value in the antenna displaymode (step S13). The controller 3 sets the antenna display mode based onthis adding result, and returns to the step S7. It is noted the statevalues as a result of the addition are within a range of 0, 1, 2, andwhen the state values as a result of the addition is equal to or morethan 3, the state value is converted into 0 (zero). It is noted that thestate value 0 (zero) indicates the first antenna display mode, the statevalue 1 indicates the second antenna display mode, and the state value 2indicates the third antenna display mode. When the key input in the stepS12 is the operation mode switching key, the controller 3 determineswhether or not a current operation mode is the first operation mode(step S16). When the current operation mode is the first operation mode,the controller 3 sets the operation mode to the second operation mode(step S17). When the current operation mode is the second operationmode, the controller 3 sets the operation mode to the first operationmode (step S18), and returns to the step S6. In addition, when the keyinput in the step S12 is neither the antenna display mode switching keynor the operation mode switching key, the controller 3 carries out aprocess corresponding to the input key (step S19), and returns to thestep S8.

FIG. 6 to FIG. 8 are flowcharts showing an antenna level display processin the step S7 in FIG. 4. The controller 3 determines whether or not theantenna display mode is the first display mode (step S21), and when theantenna display mode is the first antenna display mode, the controller 3determines the current operation mode (step S22). When it is determinedthat the current operation mode is the first operation mode, thecontroller 3 carries out a determination process of the intensity of thereceived radio wave of the first tuner 11 (step S23), and when it isdetermined that the current operation mode is the second operation mode,the controller 3 carries out a determination process of the intensity ofthe received radio wave of the second tuner 21 (step S24). Furthermore,the controller 3 sets a color of an icon (segment) in an antenna shapein the first display location of the received radio wave intensitydisplay portion 6 a to a first color (see the portion (a) in FIG. 3),and applies to the received radio wave intensity display portion 6 a thesegment ON signal based on the determination result (step S25).

On the other hand, when it is determined that the antenna display modeis not the first display mode in the step S21, the controller 3determines whether or not the antenna display mode is the second antennadisplay mode (step S26), and when it is determined that the antennadisplay mode is the second antenna display mode, the controller 3determines the current operation mode (step S27). When it is determinedthat the current operation mode is the first operation mode, thecontroller 3 carries out a determination process of the intensity of thereceived radio wave of the second tuner 21 (step S28), and when it isdetermined that the current operation mode is the second operation mode,the controller 3 carries out a determination process of the intensity ofthe received radio wave of the first tuner 11 (step S29). Then, thecontroller 3 sets the color of the icon in an antenna shape in the firstdisplay location of the received radio wave intensity display portion 6a to a second color (see the portion (b) in FIG. 3), and applies to thereceived radio wave intensity display portion 6 a the segment ON signalbased on the determination result (step S30).

In addition, when it is determined that the antenna display mode is notthe second display mode in the step S26, the controller 3 determines thecurrent operation mode (step S31). When it is determined that thecurrent operation mode is the first operation mode, the controller 3carries out a determination process of the intensity of the receivedradio wave of the first tuner 11 (step S32), and when it is determinedthat the current operation mode is the second operation mode, thecontroller 3 carries out a determination process of the intensity of thereceived radio wave of the second tuner (step S33). Then, the controller3 sets the color of the icon in an antenna shape in the first displaylocation of the received radio wave intensity display portion 6 a to thefirst color (see the portion (c) in FIG. 3), and applies to the receivedradio wave intensity display portion 6 a the segment ON signal based onthe determination result (step S34). Furthermore, the current operationmode is determined (step S35), and when it is determined that thecurrent operation mode is the first operation mode, the controller 3carries out a determination process of the intensity of the receivedradio wave of the second tuner (step S36), and when it is determinedthat the current operation mode is the second operation mode, thecontroller 3 carries out a determination process of the intensity of thereceived radio wave of the first tuner (step S37). Then, the controller3 sets the color of the icon in an antenna shape in the second displaylocation of the received radio wave intensity display portion 6 a to thesecond color (see the portion (c) in FIG. 3), and applies to thereceived radio wave intensity display portion 6 a the segment ON signalbased on the determination result (step S38).

As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible for auser to know the intensity of the preferred received radio wave, whetherthe received radio wave is a subject to be processed or a subject not tobe processed. In addition, it is also possible for the user to know atthe same time the intensity of the both received radio waves.

1. A radio wave receiving apparatus capable of receiving two differentradio waves, comprising: a display configured to: display a firstgraphic symbol indicating a first intensity of a first radio wave: anddisplay a second graphic symbol indicating a second intensity of asecond radio wave, wherein the second radio wave has a different radiowave frequency than a radio wave frequency of the first radio wave; amode selection key configured to select a first mode in which both thefirst and second graphic elements are simultaneously displayed on thedisplay; and a controller configured to control the display in responseto a user operating the mode selection key, wherein, in the first mode,the first graphic symbol is different in shape from the second graphicsymbol.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first graphic symbolcomprises at least one first sub-symbol indicating a first intensitylevel, and at least one second sub-symbol indicating a second intensitylevel greater than the first intensity level, wherein the firstintensity of the first radio wave is equal or greater than the firstintensity level and less than the second intensity level.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the display indicates the intensity of thefirst radio wave in at least a first color and indicates the intensityof the second radio wave in at least a second color, different from thefirst color.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the mode selection keyis further configured to select a second mode in which only theintensity of the first radio wave is displayed on the display, andwherein the controller is configured to switch between the first andsecond modes in response to the user operating the mode selection key.5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the first radio wave is currentlybeing processed by the radio wave receiving apparatus and the secondradio wave is not currently being processed by the radio wave receivingapparatus.
 6. A method of receiving at least two different radio wavesusing a portable communication device, comprising: obtaining informationindicating intensities of first and second received radio waves, whereinthe second radio wave has a different radio wave frequency than a radiowave frequency of the first radio wave; receiving a user input selectinga first mode, wherein, in the first mode, a first graphic symbol issimultaneously displayed with a second graphic symbol on a display ofthe portable communication device, the first graphic symbol indicatingan intensity of the first radio wave, and the second graphic symbolindicating an intensity of the second radio wave, and wherein the firstgraphic symbol is different in shape from the second graphic symbol. 7.The method of claim 6, further comprising switching the display, inresponse to user input, from the first mode to a second mode, wherein,in the second mode, only the intensity of the first radio wave isdisplayed on the display.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein the firstand second graphic symbols are displayed in different colors on thedisplay.
 9. A radio wave receiving apparatus capable of receiving twodifferent radio waves, comprising: a display configured to: display afirst graphic symbol indicating a first intensity of a first radio wave,the first graphic symbol comprising: at least one first sub-symbolindicating a first intensity level, wherein the first intensity is equalor greater than the first intensity level; and at least one secondsub-symbol indicating a second intensity level, wherein the secondintensity level indicates a stronger signal than the first intensitylevel and the first intensity is less than the second intensity level;and display a second graphic symbol indicating a second intensity of asecond radio wave, the second graphic symbol comprising: at least onethird sub-symbol indicating a third intensity level, wherein the secondintensity is equal or greater than the third intensity level; and atleast one fourth sub-symbol indicating a fourth intensity level, whereinthe fourth intensity level indicates a stronger signal than the thirdintensity level and the second intensity is less than the fourthintensity level; and a mode selection key configured to select a firstmode in which both the first and second graphic elements aresimultaneously displayed on the display; and a controller configured tocontrol the display in response to a user operating the mode selectionkey.
 10. A radio wave receiving apparatus capable of receiving twodifferent radio waves, comprising: a display configured to: display afirst graphic symbol indicating a first intensity of a first radio wave:and display a second graphic symbol indicating a second intensity of asecond radio wave, wherein the second radio wave has a different radiowave frequency than a radio wave frequency of the first radio wave; amode selection key configured to select a first mode in which both thefirst and second graphic elements are simultaneously displayed on thedisplay; and a controller configured to control the display in responseto a user operating the mode selection key, wherein, in the first mode,the first graphic symbol is different in color from the second graphicsymbol.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the first graphic symbolcomprises at least one first sub-symbol indicating a first intensitylevel, and at least one second sub-symbol indicating a second intensitylevel greater than the first intensity level, wherein the firstintensity of the first radio wave is equal to or greater than the firstintensity level and less than the second intensity level.
 12. Theapparatus of claim 10, wherein the first graphic symbol is different inshape than the second graphic symbol.
 13. The apparatus of claim 10,wherein the mode selection key is further configured to select a secondmode in which only the intensity of the first radio wave is displayed onthe display, and wherein the controller is configured to switch betweenthe first and second modes in response to the user operating the modeselection key.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the first radiowave is currently being processed by the radio wave receiving apparatusand the second radio wave is not currently being processed by the radiowave receiving apparatus.